Why Notes and a carefully chosen community are the key to real Substack growth

+ How going viral can lead to meaningful connections with your subscribers

Thank you all for being on our live about why Notes and a carefully chosen community are the key to real Substack growth.

Our amazing guests also shared how going viral—when done right—can lead to meaningful connections.

Katherine discusses her Substack

and shamanic practices and how one of restacks went viral. Jessy talks about her Substack , her memoir, writing process, and how being personal and authentic has helped her engage more readers. Lucy discusses her note that went viral, gaining over 15,000 likes and 251 subscribers, and the importance of being seen and engaging with her audience.

I’ll have a full post about what’s going viral on Notes and the Notes Boost Challenge for you tomorrow; in the meantime, below are some of the featured Notes. Everyone featured participated in the April Notes Boost Challenge.

Join us for May’s Notes Boost Challenge, May 7-28.

Substack Writers at Work with Sarah Fay
EVERYTHING you need to know about the Notes BOOST Challenge!
» Substack Notes Boost Challenge FAQs, a video tutorial, guidelines, and my step-by-step guide are below…
Read more


  • 00:00 Introduction and welcome

  • 00:17 Introducing the Substack: The wild and holy moment

  • 01:26 Exploring shamanic practices and death initiations

  • 03:03 Highlighting the Substack's impact and community engagement

  • 04:31 The power of Notes: strategies and success stories

  • 06:18 Katherine's viral Notes and their impact

  • 12:32 Restacks and their potential

  • 20:51 Jessy’s journey: sharing hard stories on Substack

  • 27:09 Publishing industry challenges

  • 27:37 Substack and personal branding

  • 28:08 Engaging with your audience

  • 28:59 The importance of voice

  • 31:32 Notes Boost Challenge insights

  • 33:32 Consistency and intentionality

  • 42:45 The power of authenticity

  • 49:50 Preparing for the Notes Boost Challenge

  • 51:43 Final thoughts and encouragement